KBVO
Not to be confused with KBVO, the real life MyNetworkTV affiliated station serving Austin, Texas. KBVO is an ABC affiliate serving Austin, Texas, and the Austin area. Broadcasting on channel 24, KBVO was owned and operated by Lady Luck Communications. KBVO was launched in 1983 as an independent station by Steve Beard. KBVO was an independent for 12 years before UPN came calling and KBVO became an affiliate of UPN. In 2002, Lady Luck Communications purchased the station, but kept the UPN affiliation. Then in 2011, when KAUS became a Rainbow Dash Network (RDN) affiliate, KBVO became the new ABC affiliate. UPN was moved to their sister station KATU. In addition to running the ABC schedule, KBVO also airs syndicated programming, including Live with Kelly and Ryan, Family Feud, and The Pyramid. History KBVO signed on the air on channel 24 on December 4, 1983; the call letters came from the University of Texas at Austin's mascot, Bevo. It was Austin's second independent station, replacing KAUS (which became an ABC affiliate). The station was originally owned by Steve Beard, an Austin advertising executive, and a small group of investors. In 1993, Beard sold KBVO to the Granite Broadcasting Corporation for $54 million – a handsome return on his original investment. UPN Affiliation KBVO's years of being an independent station came to a close when in early 1995, they became an affiliate of the United Paramount Network (UPN). KBVO saw their ratings improve slightly as the years roll on. In 1999, Granite announced that they're putting KBVO on the market, and are looking for a buyer. It took them three years, but in 2002, Lady Luck Communications bought the station and kept the UPN affiliation. Lady Luck began to upgrade the station. In 2006, The CW came to Lady Luck and asked if KBVO would leave UPN and join The CW. Lady Luck turned them down and KBVO remained an UPN affiliate. ABC Affiliation and the moving of the UPN affiliation In 2011, KAUS shocked the market when they announced that they would be leaving ABC and joining the Rainbow Dash Network (RDN). ABC was scrambling to find an affiliate. Their attention focused on KBVO. UPN was satisfied with KBVO being their affiliate, and the feeling was mutual for KBVO, but ABC made Lady Luck an offer that was hard to pass up. But they also wanted to keep a good relationship with UPN. So a compromise was reached. KBVO would be the new ABC affiliate, and Lady Luck would launch a new station to carry the UPN affiliation. So in late 2011, KAUS became the new affiliate of RDN, KBVO became the new ABC affiliate, and KATU was launched and started carrying UPN. On June 16, 2016, Lady Luck announced that they've sold the station (and KATU) to Adelphia Communications. Programming Schedule Category:Channel 24 Category:ABC affiliated stations Category:Austin, TX Category:Former independent stations Category:Adelphia Communications Category:Texas Category:Television channels and stations established in 1983 Category:Former Independent stations Category:Former UPN affiliates Category:Former UPN Affiliates